Improvement in railroad-axles



J. M. COOPER.

Car Axle.

. 35,083. Patented Apr. 29, 1862.

umsrans, PflDTO-LWHDGRAPM ER, WASHINGTON u c the wheels have no motion independent of ever the road is curved it is obvious that the wheel nearer the center of the curve has not UNITED STATES JAMES MASLTN COOPER, OI PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN- RAI L'ROAD-AXLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 85,083, dated April 29, 1862.

To all whom it nuty-concewu Be it known that I, JAMES MASLIN COOPER, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful ImprovedRailroadAxle; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a representation of my improved railroad-axle, showing portions of it in sect-ion. Fig. 2 is a transverse section through a; .90, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective representation of the semi-cylindrical pieces by which I unite together the two parts of my axle. Fig. 4 represents a modification of construction. and arrangement of the parts of my improved compound railroad-axlev In the several figures like letters of reference denote similar parts.

My invention consists in certain improvements in the construction of compound or divided railroad-axles and in the mode of connecting and fastening together the parts of which the axle is composed, designed to secure strength with simplicity of construction and ease of attachment.

Railroad-wheels are now usually, it not uni versally, attached rigidly to their axles, so that the axle revolves with the wheels, and

each other. In running on a perfectly straight road this answers better than having the wheels to revolve on their axles; but whenso far to travel as that on the outer side, and consequently must perform some part of its rotary motion without any corresponding forward movement, or, in other words, must rub on therail of the track, to the great injury of l the wheel as well as of the rail on which it 5 travels. The rubbing of the wheel on the in- 1 side rail causes the track to wear out much 1 faster on curves than wh en. the road is straight, and there is a great loss of power consequent l upon the strain caused by compelling the 1 wheel to revolve at a high speed without the i possibility of its making a fully equivalent amount of forward motion. The strain or they are chiefly designed.

torsion of the axle under these circumstances is very great, and causes a violent vibration, which results in the rapid granulation of the fibers of the wrought-iron axles, rendering them very liable to break without affording by their external appearance any indication of the impending danger. are so well known as scarcely to need to be stated, may be overcome by the use of divided axles-that is, axles made in two parts and united together in such a manner that each section will revolve with its wheel independently of the other, and by their union will support each other and enable them to resist any tendency to separate in the direction 0ttheir axes. By means of such an arrangement and constructitm of oar-axles each wheel moves independently of the other, so that there is little or no torsion or strain to the axle, and consequently the cars run much more smoothly and with less expenditure of power, while the safety of traveling and durability of the axles, wheels, and track are greatly increased. Several methods have been devised of securing these desirable results, which resemble each other in the use of two parts of an axle, but combined in different ways and varying in the method of attaching the parts together. All these, so far as I know, are more or less defective, owing to the weakening of the axle or to an insecure method of attaching the parts together.

My improved axle overcomes, as I believe, all these obstacles to the successful use of a divided car-axle.

Another object which I have in view in my invention is to allow of some lateral play between the two parts of the axle, so as to make it easier to pass round a curve and to enable cars to run with case on tracks which are of somewhat narrower gage than that for which This is important where two roads connect the gages of which 1 slightly differ, in which case it is usual to make an accommodation gage for a mile or two on each side of the point of connection a'little narrower than the wider track and wider than the narrower one, thus to enable cars to be shifted backward and forward for the easier transshipment of cattle, freight, &c.

These evils, which To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my improved railroad-axle, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the drawings, a is the male axle, and b the female axle, made of wrought-iron, steel, or other suitable material. They may be of equal or unequal length, as may be desired. The male axle a has a groove aroundit near its inner end ab ut three-quarters of an inch in depth, (more or less,) leaving a flange, c, at the end, of the same diameter as the main parts of the axle. The female axle b is sufficiently enlarged at its inner end to admit of a cavity being made in it, of the diameter of the end of the male axle a, without weakening it. The end of the female axle maybe forged and the cavity bored out, or it may be forged and lapwelded, or made in any convenient manner. The inside of the cavity of the female axle I) must be bored true and smooth, and the end of the male axle must also be turned to fit the cavity in the other axle. Two semi-cylinders, d d, of iron, sheet-brass, or other suitable substance, are made to fit in the groove 6 in the male axle, so as to surround or nearly surround the groove, and so that when in place in the groove their external diameter will be exactly that of the cavity in the female axle a. The length of'these semicylinders is to be exactly that of the groove in the male axle a, if no elastic. substance is inserted in the bore of the female axle b, and a little shorter than the groove if the elastic pad be employed. There are screws 8 8 (one or more to each semi-cylind er) passed through the cylindrical part of the female axle b, which take into the semi-cylinders, but do not pass through them, so as to leave the inside surface of the semi-cylinders perfectly smooth. Inside the bore of the female axle b is placed a pad or piece of vulcanized rubber, g, or other elastic substance, which is made spherical or polygonal, so as to touch all sides of the cavity, and thus keep its proper place, and yet not fill up entirely the space allotted to it, so as to allow of compression. A disk or washer, h, of iron, brass, or other metal, of the same diameter as the cavity of the female axle b, is placed next to the pad g, and then the end .of

- the male axle a is inserted with the two semicylinders in its groove, the ends of which must touch the flange c at the end of the male axle a. The male axle a is pressed against .the washer h, but not so as to compress the pad, and the screws 8 s are then screwed through the sides of the female axle 1) into the semi-cylinders, and the axle is ready for use. The semi-cylinders are thus attached to the inside of the cavity of the female axle b and turn in the groove 6 in the male axle a, securely holding itin place by pressure against the flange 0. Should any force be ap plied (as in passing over a narrow gage or running a curve) to press the wheels toward each other, the elastic pad will yield, and the space left by the semi-cylinders 'at the end of the groove nearest the Wheel allows the male axle ct to pass a little farther into the bore of the female axle b. This slight yielding of the axles to any force tending to press the ends of the male and female axles togetherwill tend very greatly to relieve the jar caused by running curves, and the interposition of a disk of brass or other metal between the flange at the extremity of the male axle and they end of the cavity of the female axle, whether' the elastic pad be used or not, will make the axles work together more smoothly.

If preferred to dispense with the elastic pad, the male axle a is inserted to the bottom of the cavity-in the female axle b, and the semi-cylinders (Z (Z are made to fill entirely the groove 6.

In place of two semi-cylinders a single cylindrical piece may be used by making the flange c at the end of the male axle a sepa rate from the axle and attaching it to the axle a (after placing the cylindrical piece in the groove) by means of a screw or other de vice.

Another modification of my invention is shown in Fig.4, consisting of the use of two male axles, a a, passed into a tube or sleeve, is, each male axle having a groove and two semi-cylinders, (Z d, fastened to the sleeve is by screws 5 s, in which case the india-rubber pad may be placed in the sleeve between the ends of the two male axles a a; or, as an,- other modification, the tubular part of the. female axle b may be made longer and two or more grooves be made on the main axle, each having two semi-cylinders secured to the female axle by screws, these modifications being but obvious adaptations of my invention.

Insteadof the two semi-cylinders there may be used, if preferred, a greater number of pieces of metal curved in arcs of a circle corresponding with the groove and placed therein, and they may be fastened to the tubular part of the female axle by screws or other wise. I

What I claim as my invention in the con struction of compound or divided railroadaxles, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. The use of a cylinder or longitudinal sections of a cylinder placed in and nearly filling a space in the male axle when fastened to the tubular or femaie axle, for the purpose of connecting together the male and female axles, substantially as hereinbefore described.

2. The use of a flanged head at the extremity of the male axle, either solid therewith or attached thereto, in combination with the cylinders or sections of cylinders attached to the tubular part of the female axle, for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

3. The use of an elastic pad inside the female axle, or between the solid ends of the two semi-axles, for the purpose of allowing In testimony whereof the said JAMES MAS- the axles to yield slightly to lateral pressure LIN COOPER hath hereunto set his hand.

in running curves or tracks of narrow gage.

4. The use of a loose disk of brass or other metal placed at the extremity of the male axle, whether the elastic pad be used or not, In presence ofto render the motion of the axles more easy M. G. CUSHlNG,

during any lateral pressure thereon. M. M BRIDE.

J. MASLIN COOPER. 

